What a week of action!
Posted: July 17th, 2012 | Author: editor | Filed under: Action report, Charities, Name and shame, Welfare to work industry | Tags: Bournemouth Borough Council, Butlins, Currys, Days Hotel, Durham County Council, Grow Up, ISS facilities, Marks & Spencer, Modern Classics, Music4Children, Peacocks, PKD Sporting Solutions Ltd, Savers, Scope, Stead & Simpson, success, The Big Bargain company, Travis Perkins, Ty Hafan charity shop | 1 Comment »
Leeds Unemployed Action Group exposed the workfare providers in their area
Another hugely successful and diverse week of action across the UK, saw actions in over twenty locations across the UK, hundreds of people step up the pressure with phone calls and online action, and even an Early Day Motion tabled in Parliament.
Holland & Barrett pulled out of workfare the day before its stores were to see more protests across the UK. The week ended as it began with yet another big high street name wavering in its use of workfare. Savers have said that they will use the people currently doing workfare until their placements expire, but it will not be taking on any new workfare workers, until it has spoken to ministers about concerns that if people refuse to they will have their benefits stopped.
Let’s hope they don’t buy the government’s line that the placements on the Work Experience scheme are now voluntary. Sanctions have only been temporarily suspended. People are still told that they risk losing benefits if they do not go on the scheme, and people who refuse are threatened with a mandatory scheme instead. So we will be keeping an eye on Savers. They wouldn’t be the first organisation to publicly claim that they have pulled out of workfare, only to sneak it back in. Which takes us to Scope.
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